Crossing Swords
by astorytoremember
Summary: Erza Scarlet starts at an elite school known as "The Training Grounds". Here, she will fight alongside other mages to reach the top, where she hopes to find help to uncover the secrets of her past and rid her of a spell of amnesia, which forbids her from recalling a year's worth of memories from her childhood. As she climbs to the summit, will she reach her goals?
1. Chapter 1

"My name is Erza Scarlet, and I will be taking the number one spot at this school. Feel free to fight for that title, but it will be in vain. I look forward to the next three years."

The entire student audience jumped to their feet, shouting and cursing at the top of their lungs. Who did this girl think she was, waltzing in and saying she was gonna be number one? This school was only for the best of the best, and none of them had ever heard her name before. A no name taking the top spot? They'd see about that.

She exited the stage, walking purposefully, head high. A smile slipped onto her lips as she recalled the crowd's reaction. This was already so much fun. She was sure her time at this school were be extremely enjoyable.

Since the only thing planned for that day was the opening ceremonies and a club fair, she thought she would take her time to walk through the booths, perhaps find one that sparked her interest. She pushed her long red hair over her shoulder, letting it stream behind her as she walked.

As she walked, she felt eyes on her. She didn't stop. From every moment on, eyes would be on her at all times. They had been on her since she was eight years old and discovered her magic. As she grew, both physically and magically, even more began to watch her every move. Always looking for something to criticize or exploit.

She sighed, continuing to the field where the booths were lined up in neat, orderly rows. The upperclassmen and volunteers running them saw her coming, and various reactions occurred. Every single person there, she could tell, sized her up before anything else. She let an easy smile shine on her face, feeling right at home. These people were the same as her- this was exactly where she needed to be. She started towards the first row of booths, deciding to travel row by row, seeing what all the school had to offer.


	2. Chapter 2

By the time she reached the field, all the upperclassmen and staff had heard of her little speech at the opening ceremonies. Many of them looked at her skeptically, but most shrugged it off, typical brash first years trying to to seem better than they were. They went along with their day, showing off their clubs for the incoming students.

She wandered through the tables, trying to stop at as many as she could that interested her. She had been to a few sports teams (mostly martial arts, and had a handful of flyers in her bag for them), some academic clubs (she enjoyed history and science, not so much math), but nothing really caught her eye until she saw the glint of metal under the sun.

Her eyes snapped to the source, accidentally scaring the person next to her with her fast movement. She apologized, then moved towards the table full of metal. Her eyes lit up and her smile grew even wider the closer she got to the table. This was what she had been looking for.

The table, in front of a large tent, was long and covered with a soft cloth to protect the metal, was completely covered in swords and weapons of every type; a few samples of armor lay at the far left end of the table, polished thoroughly but it was clear they were put to good use. She sighed and reached for the nearest blade, an exquisite longsword over six feet long, well tempered yet simply designed.

Fingers a breath away from the grip, a voice quickly called out, "Wait!" She froze, head turning towards the voice.

A young man stood at the end of the table, hand out as if to stop her. "That sword is extremely heavy and sharp, we have to be very careful about who handles it. School liability policy and all. Only trained professionals or members of the club are allowed to use them, I'm sorry."

She simply lifted a slender eyebrow at him, then loosely wrapped her fingers around the grip of the sword, lifting it like it was nothing. The man's hand and jaw dropped at the same time, eyes wide. She stepped back from the table, checking for people around her. Being at the far end of the field, there were very few people who had made it here yet, taking their time at the front. She held it in front of her, laying the sword flat on her palms. She switched to two fingers balancing it a few inches from the crosspiece, marvelling at how it remained completely balanced.

She flicked her hand up, launching the longsword into the air, causing the man to jump forward to attempt to catch it. Before he could even move around the table, it had begun its descent back to the ground, hilt first. Faster than his eyes could follow, the sword was in her hand, and she was spinning it expertly around her. People in the booths around them stopped and stared, watching the mesmerizing flashes of light from the sword swirling around her. She moved so gracefully, the sword was simply an extension of her being.

Suddenly, she stopped, hilt gripped in her right hand, the blade laying flat over her extended left arm, staring at him intently.

"Where did you get this sword?" she asked, not even sweating from the display she had just given. Her eyes bore into the young man, flashing with both amazement and anger. She stood to a normal stance, returning it to laying flat on her palms.

"What?"

" _Where did you get this sword?"_ she asked more forcefully, moving closer, holding the sword out towards him. He shook his head, mouth open, but no words came out. "Who is the head of this club? Who is in charge of these weapons?"

"That would be me, miss." Another young man came to the front of the tent, a sword at his waist and several daggers lining his belt. "That was quite impressive, what you just did. It takes a lot for my boys to even pick up that sword normally. Why can you?"

The man's appearance surprised Erza, but she had seen things that had astounded her far more. He stood a head taller than her, with a shock of royal blue hair that nearly brushed his collar. Soft brown eyes regarded her warily, but her eyes were drawn to the red tattooed symbols above and below his right eye. The symbols were familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on how she knew them.

She looked him straight in the eye, and said firmly, "Because I made this sword several years ago for someone very dear to me. Now, where did you get this sword?"


End file.
